The real crime is that for some many years, Puerto Rico always had a very competive season, and the league has fallen on such hard times that for the 1st time ever, they shut down business where they had NO WINTER LEAGUE at all!!
This year they are back with a VERY small amount of teams(6 teams total). There has been a huge move to try to bring the love of the sport back in Puerto Rico. The amount of MLB from Puerto Rico has declined quite a bit also. They are just not playing it as much as they use to down there....and quite frankly no one really knows why. Sad really.....
I have fond memories of winter ball in Puerto Rico.
I saw what I thought was the greatest line-up I had ever seen play together as a team for the whole season:
c-Gary Carter
1b-Dan Drissen
2b-Tont Bernazard
ss-Dickie Thon
3b-Cal Ripken
lf-Hector Cruz
cf-Ricky Henderson
rf-Jose "Cheo" Cruz
That was the Criollos of Caguas team in 1980-1981. WOW, what a line-up!
Here is some excerpts from a story back in August of 2007:
For now, the absence of a winter league in Puerto Rico means the loss of jobs for players and coaches who participated in the league, along with stiffer competition for the limited roster spots in the winter leagues in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico. Nicaragua, a country still developing its winter leagues, might benefit from the decline of Puerto Rico's Winter League. Lower-level Puerto Rican amateur players on the island will be hit the hardest and might not have a place to play.
"It would be like contracting a Major League club because of its impact on development, the staff that performs down there and scouting," said John Lombardo, the Rangers' director of Minor League operations. "There will be a lot of scrambling for jobs and clubs looking to place players."
The league's history will be hard to replace. American Hall of Fame players Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Eddie Murray all played in Puerto Rico's Winter Leagues. Virtually every Puerto Rican star, dating back to Roberto Clemente, also played in the now defunct league.
"It's a sad day, because the Winter League is always rich in tradition, and over the years, so many players in that league developed and went on to play Major League ball," said Sal Artiaga, the Phillies' director of Latin American operations. "I think the industry saw it coming with the decline in attendance and some of the other problems, mostly economics. It's something you don't want to see come to pass, but it has."
Theories for the decline of baseball, including the winter leagues, in Puerto Rico include the lack of participation by Puerto Rican Major League players in the winter, the fact that Puerto Rico is now subjected to the First-Year Player Draft, and the rise in popularity of sports like soccer and basketball.
"There are a lot of factors, but mostly it is financial," Melendez said. "The owners did not want to take anymore losses."
Puerto Rico Winter League folds | MLB.com: News
Puerto Rico to resume winter baseball season after a year-long shutdown
Posted 3/15/2008 7:39 PM
PONCE, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Puerto Rican winter baseball league will resume its season in October, more than a year after it announced a shutdown because of financial problems.
The famed league, which has starred Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez, will be revived because several municipalities have promised to increase funds and suspend stadium rents in some cases, president Jose Andreu Garcia said Friday.
He said a specific amount of money had not been pledged.
Officials also will hold the traditional interleague game, scheduled against the Dominican Republic, Garcia said.
The league runs from October through January and has a storied past, with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Reggie Jackson all playing in Puerto Rico. Last year's season was expected to feature Yadier Molina and his brother, Jose, until the owners of six teams voted unanimously last August to shut down the league. It had been affected by a steady decline in attendance.
Puerto Rico to resume winter baseball season after a year-long shutdown - USATODAY.com
LETS HOPE things are betting economically for the league this year where taking a year off will have stabized things where this won't happen again!:up
If you get a chance, check out this website:
Puerto Rico Winter Baseball
It has some great info and pictures of the stadiums and the site.
